Does your company 'make things happen,' or merely 'watch things happen?'

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

NOTE: This article also appeared in the January 5, 1998, edition of the American Marketing Association's Marketing News

It has been said that there are essentially three kinds of companies¾those that make things happen; those that watch things happen; and, those that wonder what happened. Which type of company would you say you’re associated with?

Of course, all of us would like (or, at least, should like) to be associated with a company that makes things happen. Unfortunately, for some, that’s not the case at all. Indeed, they are associated with a company that simply sits back and watches what's happening. And, for others, the situation is even worse¾they are affiliated with companies that are at this very moment "licking their wounds," wondering what happened!

We all know that many new business ventures quickly fail. Those that survive the early days and flourish do so for one simple reason¾they make things happen. They identify a need in the marketplace, develop a product (or products) to meet that need, and offer it to the marketplace. This is exactly what Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak did with Apple. Though not the first personal computer on the market, they were the first to truly meet the market’s needs. Clearly, they created a new product category. By all rights, they should still be the dominant player in that category to this very day. VISA, for instance, created the credit card category in the ‘60s, and still has nearly 50 share points!

What happened to Apple? IBM launched their personal computer with their own operating system. At that time, Apple dominated the product category and had no fear of IBM, knowing as they did that the Apple's operating system was far superior to IBM’s. But the world knew IBM, not Apple. Consequently, the world flocked to IBM. At that point, IBM could have owned the product category but, out of arrogance perhaps, they faltered. Competitors introduced IBM compatible personal computers that had more features than IBM’s, at less cost. IBM simply watched what was happening, knowing with a high degree of certainty that the world would settle for no less than IBM and shun the so-called "clones." But, of course, IBM was wrong. Thank you very much, the world said, but the IBM-compatible would be just fine.

In the early stages of the IBM-compatible phenomenon, Apple responded by trying to convince the world that Apple’s operating system was superior to IBM’s. And, it was exactly the right thing to do. Though they were unable to convince the world of their system’s superiority, Apple continued to try, and try, and try. And, instead of choosing to make an Apple IBM-compatible machine that would beat the pants off all competitors, the folks at Apple simply watched what was happening, while dreaming of their days of glory.

Time marches on, though. Nearly relegated to the "scrap heap," Apple surely must now be wondering just what happened, with an ever so distant memory of those glory days of yore. Will Apple be around for the start of the new millennium? Probably not. Given the moves they’ve been making, it looks as though they’re simply trying to hold on to their ever decreasing numbers of loyal Apple customers. Long-term (even near-term), that would be a losing proposition. The simple reality is that no company will survive, let alone flourish, when it comes to the point of wondering what happened. No company.

Less than 10 years ago, a company we know well had 33 share points, in an industry in which a share point is now worth some $400,000,000. Acting as though they were invincible then, they're now down to 24 share points! When we recently suggested that we could help them identify a positioning for their company that had the potential to greatly increase their share, one of their executives told us, "We never consider outside concepts." Apparently, they're at that stage in their evolution in which they are simply watching what’s happening. Do you suppose that might be why their revenue is down nearly $4 billion (in today’s dollars) from a decade ago?

To be a successful, flourishing business, it is necessary for the business to continue doing that which caused them to survive and flourish in the first place, i.e., they must continue to make things happen. Three factors are essential:

• They must have a passion for meeting the market’s needs in a way in which no one else can;

• They must pay rapt attention to changes in what the market expects, and respond to those changes NOW, not later;

• They must have a willingness to take a risk. Look at Boeing, for example. In the ‘50s, they bet their whole company on the future of commercial aviation, when they introduced the 707. Like Apple, Boeing created a new product category. Unlike Apple, however, they still dominate the category. Had Apple acted differently, they still could dominate their category. And, even now, if they were to determine what the market truly needs and wants, then boldly provide it, perhaps they once again could dominant the category.

So, if you do not now find yourself in a company that makes things happen, either try your level best to make it such a company, or get thee to a company that does possess this vital characteristic. Certainly, your future could depend upon it.